Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan travelled more than 100,000 miles last season – and veteran Luka Modric played more games than anyone else in the world, according to a new Fifpro report into players’ welfare.
It also found players at the Fifa Club World Cup – which took place in June and July – did not get a safe amount of off-season or pre-season days.
Football players are caught in a “perfect storm of how not to treat a human”, says the international players’ union.
Fifpro has launched its fifth annual report on the issue, looking at how much players played and travelled in 2024-25.
Alex Phillips, the secretary general, said: “Last year, the Ballon d’Or winner [Rodri] got injured and missed nearly a season.
“This season, the Ballon d’Or winner [Ousmane Dembele] is out again with a muscle injury.
“How long will this keep happening until even the club owners realise it’s bad for business?
“We’re looking at the player health issue but even the people owning clubs and leagues are starting to take note and realise the system isn’t working for anyone.”
The research paper looked into seven sections, including risks to players’ health because of calendar congestion and long international travel, the short spell in between seasons, the heat – and how young footballers are playing more than ever.
Among its findings were that Modric, who turned 40 this summer, played more games than any other player in 2024-25, including friendlies – 76 for Real Madrid and Croatia.
Europe-based Ryan had to travel 169,000km (105,000 miles) in the season for Australia duty.
And Lamine Yamal has played 130 games by the age of 18, which is far more than most of his peers ever managed.
The study found the Club World Cup dramatically added to some players’ workload too.
Darren Burgess, a high-performance consultant for Fifpro, said: “It’s a perfect storm of how not to treat a human – a large number of games and less than the recommended off-season days to go into a large number of games.
“The cycle goes on.”
BBC Sport has a look at some of Fifpro’s findings.